Dive Brief:
- Convenience retailer QuikTrip opened its first store in Mississippi, its 17th state of operation, on March 23, according to a press release on the company’s website.
- The location in Clinton, Mississippi — another one of QuikTrip’s remote travel centers — has a larger store and forecourt than a traditional site, with space for 20 gasoline vehicles and six diesel vehicles to fuel up simultaneously.
- By the end of the year, the company expects to have six of these stores open in Mississippi, adding them in Flowood, Jackson, Byram, Olive Branch and Gulfport.
Dive Insight:
QuikTrip debuted its remote travel center concept in June 2020 in Joplin, Missouri, and had as many as 23 in its network earlier this year.
Designed for busy areas of the country, QuikTrip’s remote travel centers also need to be located relatively close to one of its distribution centers to make sure fresh food is readily available to them. These distribution centers are located in Atlanta; Dallas; Kansas City, Missouri; Phoenix; and Tulsa.
Tulsa, Oklahoma-based QuikTrip’s new Mississippi location will include the company’s expanded QT Kitchen, meaning that in addition to the dispensed beverages and grab-and-go items customers generally expect, they can also find made-to-order food options like pizzas, breakfast tacos, smoked barbecue sandwiches, shakes and more.
QuikTrip joins a number of the other big-name U.S. c-stores in expanding to new states. Companies like Sheetz, Wawa, Buc-ee’s, Rutter’s, Racetrac and more are all making the leap over state borders to engage with new markets and customers.
QuikTrip, founded in 1958, has 979 locations in 17 states and employs over 24,000 people. It was named one of the Best Places to Work by Glassdoor in 2021.
